Monthly Archives: June 2023

Pellegrini:  Lagniappe

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 20, 2023

Our flight in progress. Note that every tasting comes with a little bag of oyster crackers, useful for clearing the palate between tastes.

In New Orleans, “lagniappe” refers to a little something extra, which this blog post is.  I don’t usually do two blogs in such quick succession, but it was time to pick up our wine club shipment at Pellegrini, and we decided to do a quick tasting.  I didn’t even bring my notebook!  But as we sipped, I started to take a few sketchy notes, and before I knew it, I had decided to do a short blog post.

On this Tuesday afternoon, we had the tasting room to ourselves.  We were greeted cheerily by Ryan, who was delighted to serve us.  After acquiring our shipment, we circled on the tasting menu the three wines we were already buying, plus a few others that seemed of interest.  When Ryan saw that I had circled the gewürztraminer, he suggested that I add a new wine, the BBQ white, which includes gewürztraminer grapes, thinking that we would like it.  He was not wrong.

So here are a few notes on the wines we sampled.  If you want to know more about the tasting room, check out my past posts on Pellegrini!

We went home with three boxes like this: our wine club selections, the roses, and North Fork Project merlot (Three bottles for $36).
  •  2021 Rosé          $24.99

I wanted a bottle of rosé to bring to a party, so I knew I wanted to try this.  Plus, it’s on sale!  A blend of 80% cabernet sauvignon and 20% Merlot 181 (the number refers to the merlot clone they used), this is a many-faceted rosé, and is quite tasty.  We buy some for ourselves and some to give away.

  • 2020 Gewürztraminer                    $24.99

I wanted to try this because it is also on sale, and we love One Woman’s gewürztraminer.  This is nice, but I don’t like it as much as hers, though it is fruity and delicious.  It just seems a bit one-note-ish.

  • 2022 East End Select BBQ White                $26.99

As much as I like a bargain, I also like to buy what I like, and we both like this one.  It is 46% gewürztraminer and 54% stainless steel chardonnay, a winning combination.  Ryan’s suggestion that we try this pans out, as we buy a bottle.  Yummy, with the sweetness of the gewürztraminer tamed by the citrus of the chardonnay.

  • Steakhouse Red                $21.99

This is their basic table red, and indeed it is a good hamburger/pasta red, light but with nice tannins and a bit of a funky aroma.  “It has an edge,” says my tasting pal.

  • 2017 Cabernet Franc       $32.99

A blend of 95% cabernet franc plus 5% merlot, aged 18 months in French oak, this is a somewhat light but very pleasant red. 

  • 2015 Regalo        $49.99

Regalo means gift, and this is a gifted wine, a Bordeaux-style blend of 50% petit verdot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, 15% merlot, and 5% cabernet franc.  So good.  Complex, with lots of varied fruit flavors.  We put our wine club bottle in the cellar to age.

Reasons to visit:  join the wine club!  We joined for reds only, and have never regretted it.  We liked all the wines we tried, but especially the BBQ White and the Regalo.

Sherwood House:  No Robin Hood Here

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 18, 2023

#Sherwoodhouse #winetasting #Northfork

The front area is quite pretty.

The confluence of our anniversary and Father’s Day on a sunny afternoon made us decide to brave the weekend crowds and do a wine tasting. And the crowds were definitely here, as the time of year approaches when one plans carefully for left turns.  There’s a traffic light on Cox Lane, for example.  Many of the wineries we passed had full parking lots, with cars parked on the grass in some cases, but Sherwood House was not crowded.

The building is unassuming, and easy to miss.
We were greeted promptly and given our choice of tables.

We hadn’t been to Sherwood House since 2018, when it featured a somewhat complex menu of two different owners, so we were curious to see what had changed since we’d last been there.  Not a lot externally, it turned out, but quite a lot in terms of the wines.  The tasting room is still in a house, with a rather discreet sign on Main Road (I missed it and had to turn around!), adjacent to the William Ris Gallery.  The pleasant garden area out front was occupied by a large table of bachelorettes, who were having a good time, so we asked if we could sit elsewhere.  The lovely hostess escorted us to the back deck, which we had to ourselves.  As we walked through the inside, we remembered sitting on the comfy couches in front of the fireplace on a winter visit.  The overall esthetic is modernized rustic farmhouse.

Cozy setting for winter tastings.

The tasting menu lists one flight, of six wines for $35, but the server informed us that the final red, the Sherwood Manor, is no longer available, as they are phasing it out.  It will be replaced by a merlot, which is not yet bottled.  Five wines for $30 sounded fine to us, and we sipped the cool water we were served as we waited for our flight to be prepped.  We also ordered North Fork potato chips and a dip, for $16 (a bit steep, though the dip, a blend of spinach, Greek yogurt, and lemon, with a touch of garlic, was very good).

Our snack of a very good dip and a bag of chips.

The flight came in cute little bottles, which we shared out into attractive large glasses.  After we finished, we ordered a glass of the Blanc de Blancs as we sat and finished our dip (the rest of the chips came home with us), and the server brought us clean glasses so we could share.

The flight.
  • 2020 Estate Blanc de Blancs         $60

We were glad to start with a bubbly, as it gave us a chance to toast our dual holiday.  This is a rather classic sparkling wine, with a yeasty aroma, dry, with the taste one expects from a chardonnay-based wine, of citrus, plus a bit of a funky olive-y note.  The cost, however, did give us pause.

This is my half of the full glass of bubbly we ordered after the flight. Not a lot of bubbles…
  • 2020 Brut Rosé                 $55

Another sparkling wine, this one a very light pink, made from merlot, pinot noir, and “a splash” of chardonnay.  It has not much aroma, and nice bubbles, but the taste is very light, so light as to be almost non-existent.  As my tasting buddy quipped, “I can’t even remember what it tasted like now.”

  • 2019 Oregon Road Chardonnay                  $37

Why Oregon Road?  Because that is where their vineyard is, and they do some of their winemaking at Lenz.  This is their steel-fermented chard, and it is a pretty classic North Fork chardonnay, with aromas of honeysuckle and lemon, and a nice dry taste of lemon and fruit.  It would go well with scallops.  On the other hand, you can get a liter bottle of North Fork Project chardonnay for $13 (sometimes as little as $10 if you buy three at the winery).

The back deck was a pleasant place to spend an afternoon.
  • 2019 Estate Chardonnay                $50

“Not objectionable,” says my husband.  Talk about damning with faint praise…this is their oaked chardonnay, and it is not too heavily oaked, though it does have tastes of vanilla and is somewhat creamy.  It smells sweet, with some touches of forest floor.  I generally prefer steel-fermented chards, but I don’t mind drinking this one—though again, the price seems a bit much.

This is my half of the red wine.
  • 2019 Estate Cabernet Franc         $60

The aroma is of cherries and other berries and tobacco, which seemed promising.  However, the wine is rather light and nondescript, though quite drinkable.  At a lower price it would be fine.

Before or after your tasting you can tour the gallery.

Reasons to visit:  pleasant setting, with a pretty garden out front, a rustic porch out back, and comfy couches in front of a fireplace for winter visits; the Estate Blanc de Blancs, though overpriced, is quite good; a usual menu of snacks, with a very good dip; they use bamboo plates, which are recyclable.  Note:  they do not seem to have a web page, but you can find them on Facebook.

Wondering what to do with all your corks?

Eastern Front Brewery: Celebration Time

Posted by nofowineaux in Brewery and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

June 3, 2023

The front entrance of Eastern Front is on Main Road, but they also have a parking lot off to one side.

We were in a celebratory mood, because dear friends had come for a visit.  One of them is a beer aficionado, so we decided it was time to return to Eastern Front Brewery, which we had last been to in 2019.  When we arrived, we discovered that they were also in celebration mode, hosting the opening of an artist’s exhibit.  Lindsay Lange, the artist, had set out huge bowls of chips, and, she confessed, been “up all night baking” some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve had.  Woohoo!

The table at which we sat.

We settled down at a table and proceeded to make steep inroads in a bowl of potato chips while we tasted our flights of beer.  By the way, one flight is more than enough for two people to share, and we didn’t even finish all of ours.

Eastern Front’s flight consists of five beers, two of which are regulars, and the other three vary according to season and the whims of the brew master.  A flight only costs $12. 

We’ve already made some inroads on that bowl!

The tasting room is small, though it is augmented by some outdoor tables, and tends to be noisy, even with not many people there.  They often host live music, so I would go there for music only if I could sit outside, since I tend not to like places that are too noisy.

The art exhibit

They don’t usually have free chips available, but they do allow outside food, and I discussed with our server various options.  Right across the street is Meats Meat barbeque (only open Thursday-Sunday), and in the comments you’ll find my recommendation on which beer to sip with their ribs, pulled pork, and/or brisket.  Then, literally across the parking lot, is Lucia, which says it serves “Spanish” cuisine; which, we were informed, is mainly Salvadoran, with the pupusas being heartily recommended.  Just a few doors down is a pizzeria—so no lack of good food-to-go-with-beer options.

Our flight–from right to left…
  •  Fat Old Sun American Lager        5.5% ABV (Alcohol by Volume)

My first comment is that it “smells like a frat house,” and my friend has a similar reaction.  This is a crisp, light beer, which she characterizes as “an immature beer for immature people.”  Well, to each his own.

Some of the beers are available in cans.
  • Bob’s Pale Ale                    5.8%

This is one of the “regulars,” a rather typical pale ale, with a touch of sweetness to counteract some spiciness, and a funky, grainy taste.  We think it would go well with a Meats Meat pulled pork sandwich, especially if you add in their hot sauce.

Yummy treats.
  • Love Lane Lager                5.8%

I’m sorry to note that this is not a regular, since it is our favorite so far.  My friend says to her it seems more like an English brown ale than like a lager.  It is balanced, with a touch of nuttiness and sweetness, and very drinkable.  I fantasize sitting in a pub and sipping this, and that seems just right.  It is also the best choice to go with Meats Meat, especially the brisket (which we had the last time these friends visited us).

  • North Shore Irish Red Ale             6.3%

Ooh, I like this one even better, and so does my friend.  It is another regular, always on tap.  I may have to stop in and get a growler of it one of these days.  It is nicely bitter, with subtly piney hops.

  • Belgian Strong Ale           9.5%

“This is good,” I assert after the first sip, and my friend notes that it is a very “me” beer.  She adds that it has all the flavor of a heavy beer without the heaviness.  It is complex, with notes of clove and brown sugar.  Yummy.

The artist!

Reasons to visit:  good brewery with a changing roster of beers; you can bring in food, including from some very local places; dogs are allowed; they often have live music and art exhibitions; the Love Lane Lager, the North Shore Irish Red Ale, and the Belgian Strong Ale.

Ev & Em:  Summer Is a Coming In

Posted by nofowineaux in Tasting and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
From the outside, it looks like Laurel Lake, but the inside is quite different.

June 2, 2023

Strawberries at the farm stands!  83 degrees and sunny!  It finally felt like summer, and we decided this warm, breezy afternoon was the perfect time to do a tasting.  We had tried Ev & Em (the strange name is the result of Dan Abrams, the owner, wanting to name the winery after his children) in March 2022, when they really weren’t fully open.  For one thing, they didn’t yet have their furniture.  So we figured by now they’d have it together; and they do.

I’m wondering if they’ll add more inside seating in the winter.

We were met at the door by a hostess, who escorted us out onto the breezy porch, which has roll-up plastic windows we’ve also seen on boats, and to a table for two.  I had asked if we could be seated at a table for four, but she demurred, saying she didn’t know if it was reserved.  Really?  At 3:30 in the afternoon in the middle of the week?  And as it happened, the only other people who entered were a family group with children, who were escorted down the stairs to a table on the lawn, which is apparently the policy.  But okay, we were fine.

As we perused the menu—which asserts that this is “where Napa meets the Hamptons” (um, this is not the Hamptons, but okay)—we were served a nice cold bottle of water and two cups.  Our waiter appeared, and asked if we had any questions.  We discussed the fact that they still have the same winemaker as the winery’s previous iteration, when it was called Laurel Lake, and that there are still a few bottles of Laurel Lake wines around.  On the other hand, he noted that this is the first vintage that is really an expression of their wine-making philosophy.  As we chatted, I thought he looked familiar, and suddenly he said, “I’ve seen you before! I used to work at One Woman.”  Ah ha.  It is a small world out here.

There were three flight options available—the Classic Flight, of four wines for $35; the Chocolate Pairing Flight, of four wines and four chocolate truffles for $50; and the Ev&Em2 flight, of four Ev&Em2 wines for $32.  We decided to share a Classic flight, with the thought that we might get a glass afterwards of any other wine we wanted to try from their list of eighteen wines.  We also ordered a $6 bag of North Fork potato chips (and used the leftover chips to make a delicious omelet the next day from a recipe I found in the New York Times).  They also have a variety of cheeses and charcuterie available.  Soft pop jazz played in the background as we sipped and chatted.

  •  2021 Rosé          $32

I expressed surprise at the appearance of the rosé, which is so pale as to look almost like a white wine, or as my tasting buddy said, “You wouldn’t know by looking that it’s a rosé.”  Our waiter had me hold the glass against the white of the menu, and then I could see the faint pink tinge.  The wine is a blend of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, gewürztraminer, and pinot noir, so three whites and one red, which must account for how pale it is.  It also drinks like a crisp, mineral-y white.  It has some complexity, but if you are looking for a fruity rosé, this is not it.

In this close-up, you can see the faint pink tinge of the rose.
  • 2022 Sauvignon Blanc                   $40

This steel-fermented sauvignon blanc has almost no aroma, and again is a crisp, refreshing wine, though my husband says it is “not exciting.”  The menu describes the taste as “gooseberry and grass,” and if you’ve ever chewed on a blade of grass you get that.  I think it is sophisticated, and would pair well with charcuterie, but we agree that the price is somewhat out of line for the North Fork.

  • 2022 Stainless Steel Chardonnay                $40

Another white with lots of minerality, and not much fruit.  Maybe white peaches, but no citrus.  Pleasant.

  • 2021 Pinot Noir                $55

Our waiter informs us that this is aged 70% in new oak and 30% in neutral oak.  I get lots of minerality again, which seems to be part of their style, with an aroma of eucalyptus and berries.  I taste a bit of licorice in this fairly light red.  The price? Hmmm…

  • 2019 Merlot       $40

If you’re keeping count, you can tell that we’ve come to the end of our tasting, but we have plenty of potato chips and time, so we decide we might like a glass of some other wine.  I ask our server, who had been properly attentive—as in there when you want him to be, and not when you don’t—which wines he thinks are the best, and he brings us a small taste of this merlot.  It is lean, not fruity, with some minerality.  I’m not in love with it, so he offers a taste of one more wine.

On this warm afternoon, we really appreciated the nice cool water.
  • 2021 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay          $45

He’s a bit chagrined when I say I’m not fond of oaked chards, but this one is fine, not too oaky.  It fits the general style here, which is lean, not fruity, and sophisticated.

Reasons to visit:  pleasant outdoor porch setting; all the wines if you like them with more minerality than fruit, none if you don’t; nice menu of cheeses and charcuterie.  Though my tasting pal says he “wouldn’t go out of my way,” I’d come here again for the nice setting and relaxed vibe.  Note:  they say on their website that groups including children will be seated down on the lawn.

The area where they seat parties including children. Looks comfy!